Drop hammer



Nov. 15, 1927. 1,649,380

F. c. BILLINGS DROP HAMMER Filed July 11; 1924 2 Sheets-finest. 1

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F. C. BILLINGS DROP HAMMER Filed July 11, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gnwntor xmwmga 64 atto'zwug Patented Nov. 15, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIC C. BILLINGS, OF HARTFORD. CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE BILLINGS &

SPENCER COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTI- CUT.

DROP HAMMER.

and advantage.

More particularly. an object of the invention is to provide drop hammers with improved roll driving mechanism which is very simple and compact in construction, wlnch may be economically manufactured, and which is very effective in operation.

In accordance with the present invention, I mount, upon the frame of the drop hammer. preferably on the top thereof substantially above the lifting rolls. an electric motor, and drive the lifting rolls from theelectric motor through suitable gears and shafts which are so arranged as to permit the lifting rolls to be moved relative to the board. The driving connections, as will be seen from the following detailed description, are relatively simple comprising but few parts and, preferably, these connections are enclosed. Vith my improved arrangement, the drop hammer is entirely self-contained so that it may be positioned anywhere in the shop without reference to line shafts and the like. The use of line shafts, together with their well-known and many objections, is entirely eliminated.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown, by way of illustration, my improved roll driving mechanism incorporated in a drop hammer having two sets or pairs of lifting rolls arranged one above the other, one roll, at least, of each set being movable towards and away from the board so as to grip and release the same. Such a drop hammer is illustrated and claimed in the copending application of Raymond S.,Clark, George C. Prime and Morton C. Talcott,

Serial No. 523,606, filed December 20, 1921.

While my improvements find peculiar adaptation in a drop hammer described in said application, I want it to be understood that they are not limited thereto and that my invention is susceptible of various modifications and changes.

In the accompanying drawings:

. Figure 1 is a front View of a drop hammer in whlch my improvements are incorporated;

Fig. 2 a side view of what is shown in F g. 1 with one of the driving connections between the motor shaft and the roll shaft 1n longitudinal section; and

Fig. 3 is a detail view-taken substantiallv on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. N

Referring to the drawings in detail, 10 10 designates the standards of the frame of the machine between which the hammer 11 is vertically guided, and 12 denotes the board connected to the hammer. This board may be of hard wood, .metal, or other suitable material. Mounted upon the standards 10 1s a head frame 13 which carries the lifting roll mechanism and my improved means for drlving the same. In the present illustratrve disclosure, the hammer lifting mechan1sm is shown as including two pairs of rolls mounted one above the other. The upper front, the upper rear, the lower front, and the lower rear rolls are respectively desi nated by 14:, 14, 14 and 14. Each roll is keyed to a respective shaft 16 and these shafts are journalled in eccentrics 17 mounted for rotation in bearings 18 in the sides of the head frame 13. The eccentrics of each shaft are connected by yokes 19. If desired, all four of the yokes may be rocked by means, forinstance, of a friction bar 20 so as to move the rolls into gripping relation with the board when it is desired to raise the hammer, and to move the rolls away from the board when it is desired to let the hammer drop, as'is disclosed in said application Serial No. 523,606, but, by way of illustration, I have shown, in the present instance, the yokes for the rear rolls as being normally fixed against movement and the front rolls as being controlled by the friction bar. The rear yokes, while normally fixed, are angularly adjustable so as to properly position the rear rolls relative to the board and, to this end, the rear yokes may be connected together by a link 22, and an adjustable rod 23 may be connected to the lower rear yoke. The lower end of the rod 23 is adjustably connected to one of the standards 10 as, for instance, by means of adjusting nuts 24 shown in dotted lines Fig. 1. It is desirable.

that the front rolls move towards and away from the board substantially in unison and, therefore, the front yokes are associated together by a connection including one or more links 26 and toggle links 27 and 28. The upper ends of the links 26 and 27 are pivotally connected to the upper forward yoke b a pivot member 29, and the lower ends 0 the links 26 and 28 are connected to the lower forward yoke by a pivot member 30. The adjacent ends of the toggle links 27 and 28 are pivotally connected by a pm 31 and also connected to this pin is a link 32, the lower end of which is guided by a bracket 33 pivoted to the head frame as at 34. The upper end of the friction bar s connected to this pivoted bracket 33. This arrangement is described more in detail in my co-pending application No. 660,129, filed August 30, 1923. The friction bar is controlled by the hammer through suitable mechanisms not shown because they are old in the art and form no particular part of the present invention. It is sufficient to state that when the hammer approaches the end of its upper stroke, it raises the friction bar 20 thus causing the same, through the links 26, 27 and 28, to swing the front eccentric yokes in a clockwise direction, resulting in the front rolls being withdrawn from the board. The friction bar is now held in raised position by means of suitable knockofl mechanism, not shown, until the hammer again descends. When the hammer descends and reaches the end of its downward stroke, the knock-off mechanism is tripped, whereupon the friction bar will fall and its weight will cause the front eccentric yokes to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction. thereby bringing the front rolls into engagement with the board, resulting in the board and hammer being again lifted.

.Referring now more particularly to my improved driving mechan sm, 40 designates the motor mounted on the top of the head frame substantially above the rear lifting rolls and between a pair of bearing brackets 41 arising from the sides of the head frame. Journalled in the bearing brackets 41 are shafts 42 which are substantially in alinement with the motor shaft 43 and form extensions thereof being connected thereto by joints 44. In the present instance. the left hand shaft 42 is connected to the lower rear lifting roll and the right hand shaft 42 is connected to the upper rear lifting roll. but it is obvious that the invention is not limited to this specific arrangement. The driving connections between the respective shafts 42 and the rolls areof similar construction and, therefore, it is necessary to describe but one of these connections, for instance, the right hand one which is shown in longitudinal section in Fig. 2. Journalled for swinging or pivotal movement in the bearing bracket 41 and on shaft 42 is a casing 46 which encloses a spiral gear 47 fixed to the shaft 42 and a spiral gear 48 fixed to the upper end of a shaft 49. The casing 46 has a tubular extension 50 rovided at its opposite ends with hearing ushings51 in which the shaft 49 has an axial movement. as hereinafter described more indetail. The right hand end of the shaft 16 to which is fixed the rear upper roller 14 extends beyond the side of the head frame 13 and, journalled on this projecting end for swinging movement, is a housing 54 which encloses a worm gear 55 fixed to the shaft 16 and a Worm 56 fixed to the shaft 49. This housing 54 has, at its upper end, a tubular extension 57 into which telescopes the tubular extension 50 of the casing 46. At the lower end of the casing 54 is provided a suitable thrust hearing which prevents axial movement of the shaft 49 relative to the housing 54. This thrust bearing may be of any suitable sort but is here shown as including a fixed bushing 58 and ball bearings 59 and 60 at the opposite ends of the bushing-58. The front rolls 14 and 14 are driven from the respective rear rolls 14 and 14 through intermeshing gears From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be seen that the rolls of the two sets are connected to the opposite ends of the motor shaft so tions between the motor and the rolls are of very simple nature, comprising but a relatively few number of parts and, therefore, may be manufactured and assembled very economically. These driving connections are very sturdy and. therefore. are not liable to become worn or broken and they are protected from dirt, grit, and the like. The casing 46 and the housing 54 may be filled with suitable lubricant in order to reduce friction and wear. It will be seen that, owing to the telescopic relation of the tubular extensions 50 and 57, the distance between the shaft 42 and the shaft 16 may be changed as, for instance, when it is desired to adjust the rear rolls. relative to the board without disturbing the driving connect-ions. There is sufiicient clearance between the spiral gear 48 and the casing 46 to permit of a slight sliding movement of the shaft 49 relative to the casing when the rear rolls are adjusted. It will further be noted that, since all parts of my improved lifting roll driving mechanism are mounted directly on the drop hammer machine, this machine may he placed any place in the shop without reference to line shafts and the like. The use of line shafts, belts, or other flexible connections, together with their well-known disadvantages, are entirely eliminated.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein for reciprocating vertical motion; hammer lifting mechanism including a lifting roll and a shaft supporting the roll; eccentrics supporting said shaft; an electric motor mounted on said frame and having a shaft journalled therein, a shaft transverse to said motor shaft and roll shaft, intermeshing gears between one end of said transverse shaft and said motor shaft, gearing between the other end of said transverse shaft and said roll shaft and support-- in means for said connecting shaft andpermitting the distance between said motor shaft and roll shaft to be changed.

2. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein for reciprocating vertical motion. a board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism including a roll adapted to engage the board, a shaft to which said roll is fixed, and eccentries in which said shaft is journalled; an electric motor supported on said frame and having a shaft journalled therein, a connecting shaft between said motor shaft and roll shaft, gears connecting the motor shaft to said connecting shaft and said connecting shaft to said roll shaft, and bearings for said connecting shaft supported for angular movement to permit said lifting roll to be moved relative to the board when said eccentrics are turned.

3. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein for reciprocating vertical motion, a. board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism including a roll adapted to engage the board and a shaft for said roll and supported for movement relative to the board; an electric motor supported on said frame above said roll shaft and having a motor shaft journalled in said frame, a connecting shaft extending transversely of said motor shaft and roll shaft, gearing between said connecting shaft and said motor shaft and roll shaft, and bearings for said connecting shaft journalled on said motor shaft and roll shaft.

4. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein, a board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism including a roll adapted to engage the board, a shaft to which said roll is fixed, and eccentrics supporting saidroll shaft; an electric motor supported on said frame and having a motor shaft-journalled therein. a connecting shaft gearing between the connecting shaft and motor shaft and between the connecting shaft and roll shaft, a member journalled on the motor shaft and provided with bearings for slidably supporting the connecting shaft, and a member journalled on said roll shaft and provided with a thrustbearing for said connecting shaft.

5. In a drop hammer, suitably guided therein for reciprocating vertical motion, a board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism including a roll adapted to engage the board, a shaft to which said roll is fixed, and eecentrics in which said roll shaft is journalled; a motor on the top of said frame and having a motor shaft substantially in parallelism with said roll shaft, a connecting shaft extending transversely of said mentioned shafts, gearing between said connecting shaft and motor shaft and between said connecting shaft and roll shaft, a casing journalled on said motor shaft enclosing the gearing between said motor shaft and connectiug shaft and having bearings slidably supporting the connecting shaft, and a housing journalled on said roll shaft-and enclosing the gearing between said connecting shaft and roll shaft and having a thrust bearing for said connecting shaft.

6. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein for reciprocating vertical motion, a board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism ineluding a roll adapted to engage the board, a shaft to which said roll is fixed, and eccentrics in which said shaft is journalled; an electric motor supported on the top of said frame and having a shaft journalled therein, a connecting 5 ft, spiral gears between said conneeting shaft and motor shaft, worm gearing between said connecting shaft and roll shaft, a casing pivoted on said motor shaft and housing said spiralgears and having bearings slid-ably receiving said connecting shaft, and a housing journalled on said roll shaft for enclosing said worm gearing and having a thrust bearing for said connecting shaft, said casing and housing having telescoping portions.

7. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein for reciprocating vertical motion; hammer lifting mechanism including two lifting'rolls and shafts journalled in said frame and supporting the respective rolls; an electric motor mounted on said frame and having a shaft journalled therein, a shaft between and transverse to said motor shaft and each roll shaft, intern'ieshing gears between one end of each of said connecting shafts and said motor shaft, and gearing between the other ends of said connecting shafts and the respective roll shafts.

8. In a drop hammer,-a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein for reciprocating vertical motion, a board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism including two rolls adapted to engage said board, a shaft for each of said rolls, and coa frame, a hammer tit) centrics in which said shafts are respectively iournalled; an electric motor supported on said frame and having a shaft journalled therein, a connecting shaft between said motor shaft and each of said roll shafts, gears connecting the motor shaft to each connecting shaft, gearing between each connecting shaft and the respective roll shaft, and bearings for said connecting shafts supported for angular movement to permit said lifting rolls to be moved relative to the board when said eccentrics are turned.

9. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein for reciprocating vertical motion, a board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism including two rolls adapted to engage said board, a shaft for each of said rolls, and eccentrics in which said shafts are respectively journalled; an electric motor supported between thesides of said frame and above said rolls and having a motor shaft extending in each direction, a driving connection on one side of said frame and between one end of said motor shaft and one of said roll shafts, and a driving connection on the opposite side of said frame and between the other end of said motor shaft and the other roll shaft.

, 10. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein for reciprocating vertical motion, a board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism including two rolls adapted to engage the board and a shaft for each roll supported for movement relative to the board; an electric motor supported on said frame above said roll shafts and having a motor shaft ex tending in opposite directions and journalled in the sides of said frame, connecting shafts between said motor shaft and the respective roll shafts, gearing between said connecting shafts and said motor shaft and between said connecting shafts and the respective roll shafts, and'bearings for the respective connecting shafts journalled on said motor shaft and roll shafts.

11'. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein, a board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism including two pairs of lifting rolls one above the other and adapted to engage the board, a shaft for each, of said rolls, and eccentrics supporting the respective roll shafts; an electric motor supported between the sides of said frame and above said rolls and having a motor shaft extending in oppo- .site directions, a driving connection on one side of said frame between one end of said motor shaft and a roll shaft of one of said pairs, and a driving connection on the opposite side of said frame between the other end of said motor shaft and a roll shaft of the other pair.

12. In a drop hammer, a frame, a hammer suitably guided therein, a board to which said hammer is secured; hammer lifting mechanism including two pairs of lifting rolls one above the other and adapted to engage the board, a shaft for each of said rolls, and eccentrics supporting the respective roll shafts; an electric motor supportedon said frame and having a motor shaft journalled therein, a connecting shaft between said motor shaft and one roll shaft of each pair, gearing between said connecting shafts and motor shaft and between the respective connecting shafts and one roll shaft of each pair, member's journalled 0n the motor shaft and provided with bearings for slidably supporting the respective connecting shafts, and members journalled on the respective roll shafts and provided with thrust bearings for the respective connecting shafts.

FEEDER LG C. BlLLINGS. 

